07.12.06

You’d think a life-long, red-feathered St. Louis Cardinals fan like Will Leitch would have to be 100% certain before spreading a rumor about one of the names redacted in the Jason Grimsley indictment — especially knowing that the name in question, that of former Royals strength & conditioning coach Chris Mihlfeld (above) would ultimately be linked to the former wrestler’s client and pal, the Cards’ All-Universe 1B Albert Pujols.

Will Leitch, the New York City-based, full-time editor of Deadspin.com, stands by his story. Leitch has a journalism degree from the University of Illinois and says he has written for Sporting News, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The New York Times. Last year, his site was lauded in a Sports Illustrated piece about credible online sources. But Deadspin is part of Gawker Media, a blog company that has a reputation for using questionable reporting methods and sources.

Leitch says his source was operating on secondhand information leaked by another person who claimed to have seen an unredacted version of the Grimsley affidavit. Leitch acknowledges that the mainstream media wouldn’t have considered the source legitimate. But he says his site did annotate the report by explaining that its credibility was an eight on a scale of 10. “Is The New York Times willing to run with that story? Probably not,” Leitch admits. “But we said upfront there’s a possibility that we’re not 100 percent on this. I have no choice but to stand by my source just like any other journalist would.”

Pujols (above) has also offered to cover Mihlfeld’s legal fees if the trainer does file a lawsuit against those who have accused him of having a connection to steroids. “Definitely, because I know the guy and I know he’s innocent,” Pujols says. “I just wish the stupid people who wrote whatever they did about the guy, they should have found out the facts before they wrote their stupid article. But that’s just how the media is, and that’s something you can’t control.”

I might not possess a journalism degree from the University Of Illinois, but even I know there’s a world of difference between “breaking a story” and merely repeating the accusations of an anonymous, and perhaps less-than-credible tipster. The former would actually involve some smidgeon of investigation, production of evidence and giving those accused a chance to respond. As opposed to sitting on the couch and regurgitating the tips (which is sooo much more dignified than mere cutting and pasting).

Still, I do realize that the public’s right to know trumps all other considerations of fairness and accuracy. And with that in mind, please, inquiring minds wanna know : does the Human Whoopee Cushion’s ejaculate really taste like Spicy Crunchwrap Supreme?